Deputy Clerk Signs Wrong Form, Mistakenly Releases Man From Jail

FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. - A Forsyth County Deputy Clerk of Court signed the wrong paper and mistakenly released Terrance Douglas Poindexter from jail. Clerk of Court Susan Frye said her employee, Chris Kurani, admits he made a mistake

If you look at the court document Kurani signed, it shows a drug trafficking charge against Poindexter. However, on the day Poindexter was in court, he was there to face a separate charge of larceny. Frye says Kurani assumed the form he was signing was for Poindexter's larceny charge, not the drug trafficking charge.

WFMY News 2 asked Frye how this could happen.

"It happens by making a human error. There were 300 people on the docket that day. Mr. Poindexter was the last person to be tried that day at 6:00 at night. It was as human error. The clerk did not take the time to read the paperwork properly before he signed off on it," Frye said.

The clerk said she has placed a written reprimand in Kurani's file. In addition, Frye added that her office has been overworked and under stress because of budget cuts.

"In 2010, I lost eight employees. We're doing more work with less employees. It's one of our biggest dilemmas here. That's what the court system deals with every day. We have a tremendous amount of paperwork," Frye said.

Frye added Kurani is sorry for what has happened, "He's extremely remorseful. He does a great job. He's a very hard-working individual. He's a dedicated employee. So, it's been very devastating to him."

The clerk, the sheriff and jail are all working on ways to prevent this from happening again.

The sheriff's department says Poindexter could be dangerous. If you see him, dial 911 immediately. Do not approach him.